In a sole or heel holder of the foregoing type, the locking part usually is at least a part of a spring abutment which is supported for limited movement in a guideway of a support part, which support part is pivotally supported about an axis on the base part or bearing block, and one side of the locking pawl usually is associated with a detent and the other side has the notch.
Such a sole or heel holder, in which the release lever is hinged to the support part, is already known from Applicants' Austrian Pat. No. 275 372 and has proven successful in practice. There, the locking spring always acts on the sole holder. Upon operation of the release lever, the locking pawl is totally released, but the release lever remains under the influence of the spring and in this manner the sole holder does too. The notch is therefore constructed as an actual recess.
From a further development of this sole or heel holder, in which upon operation of the release lever both the lock and also the sole down-holding means leave totally the range of action of the locking spring, a solution is also known in which the detent is arranged on the base part, the locking pawl grips under the same and is hinged on the sole down-holding means, and the release lever is also hinged to the locking pawl, on which is provided following the detent a recess, into which recess the locking part moves upon operation of the release lever and which recess is closer to the swivel axis of the locking pawl than to the detent. Also, the support part carries the second spring abutment.
In a different known sole or heel holder, one side of a locking pawl grips over a locking bolt of the pivotal sole down-holding means and the pawl has on the other side a cam plate. A spring-loaded locking part engages the cam plate, which locking part is arranged together with the loading spring on a swingable release lever. If the release lever is pressed downwardly, the locking part moves along the cam plate to an end position. Through this, the length of the effective lever arm through which the locking part acts onto the locking pawl is reduced, and the locking pawl when swivelling must overcome only the effective spring force. Here too, however, both the locking pawl and the sole down-holding means are always under the influence of the spring.
Furthermore, a ski binding is known in which a swingable locking pawl cooperates on one side with a swingable sole down-holding means and on the other side has a cam plate, along which cam plate a spring-loaded locking part can be moved by means of a release lever. The cam plate extends to the swivel axis of the locking pawl so that, upon a movement of the locking part to this region, the line of action of the loading spring goes through the swivel axis of the locking pawl. Through this, the effective force of the spring onto the locking pawl is substantially overcome, and the locking pawl can be swivelled with a relatively low force input. A spring force, however, albeit a very small force, continues to act both onto the locking pawl and also onto the sole down-holding means. Furthermore, the release lever must constantly be pressed if the foregoing conditions are supposed to be maintained. If the release lever is no longer loaded, then the locking member moves automatically into the locking position and a swivelling of the sole down-holding means requires that the entire spring force must be overcome through the locking pawl.
In all these known solutions, it is disadvantageous that the release or the swivelling of the sole or heel holder can take place only with considerable friction forces which are created between the locking pawl and the detent on the one hand and between the locking pawl and the locking part on the other hand.